"I think this year more than ever at the GRAMMYs, I feel like you can see that queer music is just music, period," Troye Sivan declared from the 2025 GRAMMYs red carpet Sunday night.
The Australian pop star certainly had a point: the year 2024 felt like a tipping point for music by LGBTQIA+ artists and their allies, not only in terms of critical acclaim but also success on the charts — creating a groundswell that sent "queer music" crashing from the sidelines into the center of mainstream culture.
Need examples? Just look at the way Charli xcx — a constant, defining force in queer circles for over a decade — took her smash album BRAT from New York City's underground party circuit to the GRAMMYs. Earning eight nominations at the 2025 GRAMMYs, including nods for Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year, she went home with her first three golden gramophones and closed out the show with a risqué, ecstatic performance.
Billie Eilish also took her career to new heights, with 2024's HIT ME HARD AND SOFT serving as a distinct turning point in her multi-platinum discography and her award-winning lyricism turning unapologetically queer. ("I could eat that girl for lunch/ Yeah, she dances on my tongue/ Tastes like she might be the one," the nine-time GRAMMY winner sang on lead single "LUNCH.") The album earned the singer six more GRAMMY nominations at the 2025 GRAMMYs, with her deliciously sapphic Charli XCX collab "Guess" notching a seventh.
"We are so well-represented this year, and it makes me very, very proud and very excited," Sivan added. "I'm very excited for everyone who's nominated."
Along with his own nomination (for Best Pop Dance Recording), the "Got Me Started" singer had plenty of pals and peers to root for at this year's ceremony. Myriad artists at the forefront of the LGBTQIA+ music community were celebrated through performances, wins and nominations, including Eilish, Chappell Roan, Doechii, Anitta, Kehlani, WILLOW, Clairo, and Kaytranada, as well as songwriters Ryan Beatty, Shane McAnally, Leland and Justin Tranter (the latter of whom hosted the Premiere Ceremony).
Below, revisit five ways the queer music movement and the LGBTQIA+ community were honored at the 2025 GRAMMYs.
Chappell Roan Transported The GRAMMYs To The "Pink Pony Club"
It's hard to choose which moment of the night was the most unabashedly and joyously queer, but the distinction might just go to Chappell Roan for her performance of "Pink Pony Club."
While the 2020 single may have taken four years to make the track list of Roan's debut album (the Album Of The Year-nominated The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess) and become a viral hit, it's undeniably an anthem of queer joy. With its age-old story of escaping small-town repression and familial judgement for the bright lights and freedom of the big city, "Pink Pony Club" speaks to the heart of any queer transplant in L.A. or New York City on a journey to find their true self.
"Pink Pony Club" is also a testament to Roan's own journey from small-town singer/songwriter to one of the industry's brightest rising stars — who was crowned with the honor of Best New Artist shortly after her wonderfully kitschy performance.
Read More: 2025 GRAMMYs: Chappell Roan Wins Best New Artist, Calls On Labels To Do Better
"I felt very isolated; it felt like I was never good enough because I was gay," the singer said of growing up in Wichita, Kansas, in a video segment that introduced her GRAMMYs performance. "I think my younger self really needed a girl like me to look up to."
For any young queer dreamer watching from their own small town in Middle America, the pop singer's triumphant performance did exactly that. "I know you wanted me to stay/ But I can't ignore the crazy visions of me in L.A./ And I heard that there's a special place/ Where boys and girls can all be queens every single day," she sang from atop a massive pink steed before the number erupted into a massive sing-along and the colors of the trans, lesbian and bisexual Pride flags lit up the stage in a stunning glow.
Doechii Championed For "More Gay Artists"(And Alligators)
Doechii showed up to the 2025 GRAMMYs as the most-nominated female rapper of the year. The proud Tampa native not only won the award for Best Rap Album for her outstanding 2024 mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal, but she also electrified the arena with a flawlessly choreographed medley of "CATFISH" and "DENIAL IS A RIVER" during the Best New Artist showcase; she even earned admiration from Dionne Warwick, who declared definitively on social media, "Doechii is a star."
But before she had even hit the stage for what Billboard ranked as the best performance of the evening, the newly minted GRAMMY winner — who identifies as bisexual — wasn't shy about using her big night to push for greater LGBTQIA+ representation.
Walking the red carpet in custom Thom Browne, Doechii stopped to chat with GLAAD correspondent Chrishelle Stause. When the Selling Sunset star asked what she wanted to see more of in the music industry, the rapper didn't mince words: "I want to see more gay artists. And more alligators."
The jury may be out on letting Doechii's favorite swamp creatures into the recording booth, but research shows that queer visibility can have a critical impact on young fans watching the GRAMMYs at home or devouring their favorite artists' music.
In fact, The Trevor Project's 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ+ Mental Health found that 79 percent of queer youth reported that seeing musicians come out as LGBTQIA+ made them feel good about their own identity.
"When LGBTQ+ young people see themselves reflected and celebrated on a global stage like the GRAMMYs, it sends a powerful message that they belong, their experiences matter, and that they can succeed in spaces as their true, authentic selves," Kevin Wong, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Content at The Trevor Project, said in a statement shared with GRAMMY.com. "We are a vibrant and creative community, and we deserve to have our voices heard, our accomplishments celebrated, and our existence validated."
Lady Gaga Once Again Defended The Trans Community
From the very beginning of her acclaimed career, Lady Gaga has stood as a cultural pillar of the LGBTQIA+ community.
She's also been an ardent, passionate defender of her legions of queer fans — back in the days of "Bad Romance" and "Born This Way," she refused to address rumors she was a man and had either been born intersex or assigned male at birth.
In 2024, she even explained her rationale for letting that type of gossip run rampant instead of clarifying her identity, telling Bill Gates on Netflix's What's Next? The Future With Bill Gates, "The reason why I didn't answer the question is because I didn't feel like a victim with that lie. But I thought about, like, What about a kid who is being accused of that who would think that a public figure like me would feel shame?
"I've been in situations where fixing a rumor was not in the best interest of the well-being of other people," she continued. "In that case, I tried to be thought-provoking and disruptive in another way. I tried to use the misinformation to create another disruptive point."
Given her history as a serious advocate for the queer community, it should come as no surprise that the MAYHEM singer took another stand during the GRAMMYs telecast.
Accepting her 14th career GRAMMY for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Bruno Mars for their No. 1 collab "Die With a Smile," Mother Monster eloquently hit back at the current presidential administration's attempts to attack and erase the trans community.
"I just want to say tonight that trans people are not invisible. Trans people deserve love, the queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love," she said as the arena broke out into supportive applause.
St. Vincent Put Queer Love On Display
St. Vincent was already a three-time GRAMMY winner when she arrived at this year's ceremony, but managed to double her number of golden gramophones by taking home the awards for Best Alternative Music Album (for 2024's All Born Screaming), Best Alternative Music Performance (for "Flea") and Best Rock Song (for "Broken Man") at the Premiere Ceremony.
While the alt-rock goddess has been open about her queer identity in the past — explaining to Rolling Stone in a 2014 interview, "I believe in gender fluidity and sexual fluidity" and "don't really identify" as either gay or straight — she's been famously tight-lipped about her private life in years since.
So, it felt all the more special when the artist shared two huge pieces of news while giving one of her three acceptance speeches. "First, I want to thank my beautiful family: my beautiful wife Leah and our beautiful daughter," she said while accepting the GRAMMY for Best Rock Song, revealing that not only was she married, but that she and her partner are parents to a little girl!
The rocker reiterated the sweet sentiment in each of her subsequent speeches, and choosing the GRAMMYs spotlight to share such personal news helps reinforce the importance of queer families and the LGBTQIA+ community's hard-won rights.
Charli xcx Put On A BRAT Finale
One week after becoming an eight-time GRAMMY nominee in November 2024, Charli xcx introduced herself to millions of viewers across America on "Saturday Night Live": "For those of you who recognize me, you might know me from my album BRAT. But don't worry if you don't: there is nothing wrong with being straight."
Well, it's safe to say even straight viewers are now well acquainted with the queen of Brat Summer, who took home her first three GRAMMY Awards before hitting the stage for an eye-popping party of a performance.
Closing out the telecast just before Beyoncé won Album Of The Year for COWBOY CARTER, the longtime gay icon quite literally made it rain underwear — easily a first for the GRAMMYs stage — during a wild medley of modern club classics "Von dutch" and the subversive, sexual "Guess."
As a beaming Eilish, her collaborator on the "Guess" remix, looked on, Charli writhed and strutted on stage alongside producer The Dare and It Girl pals like Gabriette, birthday girl Julia Fox and Alex Consenti, who recently made history as the first trans model to win model of the year at the 2024 Fashion Awards.
"You wanna guess if we're serious about this song," the pop star proclaimed in the performance's closing moments, daring the audience to come to their own conclusion. But any of her friends and fellow artists leading the charge in the current queer music movement — or any LGBTQIA+ fan watching from home — already knew the answer: the 365 party girl was not only dead serious, she was having the time of her life proving it.